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Monday, October 17, 2011

Taking A Step Back From The Ledge After Rangers Slow Start

At 0-1-2 with three subpar performances under their belt it is ok to be
upset with the New York Rangers and how they have started the 2010-11
season.However, the level at which some
are sounding off and looking for a lifeboat is a little out there.The bad news is that they have had three bad
outings with way too many penalties, not enough offensive chances, have failed
to establish a consistent forecheck in any game, the power play still doesn’t generate
enough of a threat.

All of those things are perfectly legitimate criticisms, but even with all
of those things against two very good Western Conference teams they managed to
get a point out of it and against an improving Islanders team they were in the
game with a shot to win in the third period. That for me is actually a positive because it
is tough to imagine that they will continue to play this poorly for the next 79
games, thus the results should improve.That brings me to the positive things out of the first three games that
seem to get ignored because the final score is all that matters for some.

Henrik Lundqvist looks locked in as he has surrendered seven goals in three
games while stopping 84 shots against.His goals against is at 2.23 and save percentage is .923 which is almost
exactly where his numbers ended last season (2.28 GAA, .923 SV%).

Derek Stepan showed he can be the answer to the questions surrounding the
top line left winger as he looked like he had been playing with Gaborik and
Richards since training camp opened.Gaborik and Richards have shown excellent early chemistry with one
another as Gaborik is skating like he did during the 2009-10 season and
Richards passes allow him to take advantage of that burst.Obviously the line will have to be more
impactful throughout games than they have been in the first three, but the
seeds are there for a special line that can carry an offense.

The play of Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh has been phenomenal and while
there have been breakdowns from other defenders, the way the defense has played
without Staal at all and no Sauer against the Islanders should be somewhat
encouraging.Losing two of the top four
defenders is something that would cripple most teams, but the Rangers have
battled through reasonably well in the early going.

It is easy to go nuts over the 0-1-2 record and the overall uninspiring performances
of the team thus far, but just like 3-0-0 doesn’t mean you are going to be
having a parade in June, 0-1-2 does not mean you will miss the playoffs and the
world is over.There are 79 games to go
in the season, so let us all take a step back, look at what is and what is not
working and realize there are 2 points to be had in the next game.